5 minutes with - Aleksandra Krajewska
Aleksandra specialises in recruitment within areas of Cloud, DevOps, and Software Engineering, along with more functional roles, such as Project Manager, Engineering Manager, etc. Her main area of operations is in the Netherlands, but she also receives opportunities that are open throughout the whole EMEA area. Aleksandra can also cater towards international candidates based in the Netherlands with her multilingual approach.
We caught up with Aleksandra to discuss what matters most to candidates, what roles are most in demand and discussed some really exciting market trends.
What have you found your candidates are looking for most in their next role?
After the pandemic, a lot of candidates focused on finding the right environment for themselves. Although improving one’s material situation is still one of the priorities, nowadays we see more emphasis on areas that make work truly engaging and interesting. Amongst those factors are: a challenging work environment, engaging projects, useful products, emphasis on teamwork, and a flat structure that establishes easy communication. In the past 6 months, a trend has emerged among my candidates, where they really want to make an impact with their work by joining companies, start-ups, and scale-ups, focused on fighting climate change and improving the health of our planet! Additionally, there has been a great influx of AI and Machine Learning-focused roles on the market, with ChatGPT and Dall-e AI bots’ popularity promoting the idea of functional and daily implementation of AI solutions.
Why are people leaving their current roles?
The main reasons why my candidates decide to explore the job market are always related to their work conditions. One of the most frequent issues my candidates encounter is a lack of challenging projects and professional growth. Those two elements always stand out, as candidates are focused on improving their knowledge and building their skillset, regardless of their career ambitions. Other elements that play a vital role in making the big step of changing your workplace, include methodological differences, lack of team synergy, and a need for less daily commute. Work-life balance is the main theme that unites all of those elements. Post-pandemic our candidates realise that they do not have to sacrifice their family time, hobbies, or free time to work in an effective and reliable manner.
What job titles are most in demand?
Nowadays the demand is quite evenly spread across multiple functions. The roles with the greatest demand are within the Software Development space - anything from Embedded Software to Specialised Software Engineering. Just in my team, we have multiple openings for JavaScript and Python specialists. After the Winter Holiday period, we are also seeing more and more attractive Cloud roles, along with Executive Level roles opening up for the most ambitious and experienced of our candidates. As the market stabilises, we will see more and more openings with time.
Has the standard interview process changed in the past year?
The interview process has definitely changed over the past year. Firstly, and most importantly, the interview process has shortened on average by 2 steps, minimising the time commitment required from potential candidates and reducing the length of the interview process to 3 steps on average. Additionally, the trend of online conversations is still going strong, which removes the additional need for travel from candidates. Of course, there are still companies that have unreasonably long processes, taking anything between 5 to 7 steps, but more and more HR departments are stepping away from this practice, due to the candidate dropout rates. Technical tests are still a very important element of the interview process, but they are usually executed as the 2nd stage of the talks. I always recommend my candidates to ensure the technical test is executed to the best of their ability, as it can be a “make-or-break” for a candidate in any process.
What’s exciting about your market at the moment?
The Dutch IT market is a very exciting and lively industry that is experiencing a lot of movement. ASML, the semiconductor manufacturing giant from the Netherlands, has just reported a 25% increase in sales profit for Q4 of this fiscal year, which is an excellent indication of how well the whole market will perform. There is an astonishing number of fantastic start-ups and scale-ups that have dedicated their mission to sustainability and fighting climate change, who are hiring right now, giving us an opportunity to participate in truly life- and world-changing projects. Medium to large enterprises are opening projects in spaces of Blockchain, AI, Machine Learning, and more! The Netherlands was recently deemed the best country to adopt Metaverse and VR workplace arrangements, and this is only the beginning of a fantastic year full of innovation and movement within the Dutch Technology Market. This is just the right time to “jump the ship” and dedicate yourself to the projects you will truly believe in!
What is the best way for people to contact you for advice, Aleksandra?
If you want to have a chat, I’ll be happy to accommodate your linguistic needs, with fluency in English, Polish and Spanish. Please just pop me an email or give me a call.
Phone | +44 (0)207 078 8826